Extract Text From PDFs

[nemorathwald]

I just got this question and thought I'd share the answer.

Do you know of any free or cheap software that will convert a pdf into a typable form? I've been told that Acrobat will do it, but I don't need any of the other functionality, so it would be a waste to buy it.

You mean copy-and-pastable form? Actually, Acrobat Pro is pretty poor at it. My favorite way is to Gmail a PDF to myself, and when I receive it, click "View". Then I copy and paste text out of the browser. It usually works OK, depending on the layout of the content.

Comments

[parslaanna.livejournal.com]

Copy and paste is one thing, if all you require is a small section of the text. But what if you have a .PDF of that is several pages long, you have to do is make a minor change on page 7?

[matt-arnold.livejournal.com]

So it's just you filling in your own info? Not adding fields to it for
other people to fill out? This will probably work:

http://www.tracker-software.com/product/pdf-xchange-viewer